The Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) has announced that they will be escalating their job action with a full-scale strike starting June 15.
Bill Tieleman, spokesperson for GVRDEU, says that Metro Vancouver management has set preconditions to return to bargaining that includes positions the union has already rejected.
“The GVRDEU has not had a new contract for 17 months. Negotiations have broken off some time ago and are at an impasse.“
With no agreements at the bargaining table, the GVRDEU has decided it has no other choice but to fully strike.
“We have outstanding issues which include health and safety improvements in our collective agreement and contracting out and into contracting out or restrictions on that a bargaining unit work and also recruitment and retention of skilled workers.”
Tieleman says that workers are fed up with watching the mismanagement of Metro Vancouver, including the North Shore Wastewater treatment plant.
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“That is one of the many indications of problems at Metro Vancouver that’s going to cost taxpayers up to $700 a year for per home for 20-30 years. None of that is going to frontline services.”
Troubles are also with the health and safety of workers.
“Work Safe BC has fined Metro Vancouver over $800,000 for two terrible accidents that have happened in the last six years,” said Tieleman.
“Health and safety are more important than money. It’s more important than terms and conditions or anything else, because if a worker can’t feel that they are going to go home safe at the end of the day, nothing else matters.”
With the breakdown of negotiations, Tieleman says there are many issues at hand.
“There’s just a plethora of problems with the way this organization is being managed and we’re paying the price for it right now.”
Job action can already be seen at watersheds, water treatment plants, and protective services across the Greater Vancouver area.
Essential workers are excluded from the strike.